"India continues to have a long-term potential for growth. We are investing for growth in the long term and are not too worried about the short term."Ratna Bhushan | ET Bureau | November 07, 2016, 07:38 IST

"Our big products - Dettol, Harpic, Lizol -and some of our large products which we acquired after the Paras deal like Moov and D'Cold are doing well."British consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser says the Modi government has been a "huge enabler" for the country with its progressive policies. The commercial advantage in programmes such as Swachh Bharat are closely linked with the purpose of the country and are beyond driving shareholder value, its global chief executive officer Rakesh Kapoor told ET in an interview by phone from London hours before travelling to India as part of British Prime Minister Theresa May's delegation. India-born Kapoor said he is banking on innovation to get back growth. Edited excerpts:

You said last year that India will be Reckitt's third-largest market. When is that happening?I can give you the confidence that we're on our way. The results show that. The British PM choosing India as the first country to visit outside Europe is very symbolic. Reckitt has a huge presence in both these countries and we are looking at how we can cooperate on economic growth and development of both markets… I don't want to be one of those who misses out on the India growth story. I would put my money first on India. But let me add that the India business can never do well enough for my ambition. Considering the growth potential, to limit our ambition for India will be a lost opportunity. We are growing in teens. Are we growing faster than last year? The answer is yes. Are we doing better than some others? The answer is yes. Am I happy with the growth? The answer is no.

Does India remain an attractive investment destination, given the challenges like slow economic growth and, now, air quality?India continues to have a long-term potential for growth. We are investing for growth in the long term and are not too worried about the short term. Yes, there are perceptions and short-term challenges. Some of those challenges cannot be underestimated for various reasons, some conflicting, and will take time to counter. But look at the long term. The Modi government has been a huge enabler with lots of big policies. In a fast-growing population, what's needed is significant investments behind health and hygiene that ensure improvement in clean water, clean air and sanitation. In India, spends on healthcare are one of the lowest. That has to go up. Take Swachh Bharat — it's the most far-reaching, ambitious and brilliant programme by PM Modi. There is a hygiene aspect, a health aspect and an economic prosperity aspect to it. There's transparency and does something good for the country.

You singled out India as a 'power market' in your post-Q3 earnings call. What's different for Reckitt India at a time your immediate rivals have been reporting less than 5% sales?I don't want to comment on the competition and how they are doing. Because, if you're thinking about the competition, you're going to inevitably start looking at market share — that's a bad way of looking at it. We have to think of how to grow the pie, how to drive more penetration, how to get more consumers — those are the big questions. Measuring ourselves with the competition defocuses us from our core strategy. Our big products — Dettol, Harpic, Lizol —and some of our large products which we acquired after the Paras deal like Moov and D'Cold are doing well.

Has the Swachh Bharat campaign worked for Reckitt more commercially or in terms of image?Our purpose is finding innovative solutions for healthier lives. That is so centrally linked to the purpose of the country, which is about making India clean, hygienic and healthy. I find that link between the company purpose and India purpose very, very exciting. Our 'Banega Swachh India' programme is our effort towards that. We are contributing Rs 100 crore to this programme, which is one of the largest by any company. On whether there's a commercial advantage for RB, it's not just about selling more products or creating more growth or driving more shareholder value, but also contributing more to what India wants to do. I don't think there's a trade-off between our objective of driving shareholder value and connecting with the purpose of the country. There is potentially, in the long term, gain for Dettol and Harpic. But the important thing is, it's beneficial for the brands and also beneficial for the country.

We've set ourselves a target of 4-5% growth at the lower end of 4-5%. So it's not a downgrade, really. Suppose it was double-digit growth, would I be ecstatic? The answer is, no. One quarter doesn't define a company's capabilities. Yes, global markets have been softer this year versus last year. Emerging markets no longer have only one pattern. Some markets like India and China are making good strategic progress. Others like Korea, Russia and Brazil have been impacted by weak consumer sentiment. There are larger economic or political issues impacting us. These challenges will impact the near term but we’re targeting full year like-for-like net revenue growth of 4%-plus.

What are you doing to revive consumption?The answer is innovation. Even in a flat market, we have to remind ourselves that we need to do better. In the short term, you can't turn out innovation in one go. It has to be sustained. Few years ago, we made India one of our key R&D centres. We rely on efforts such as these to make sure that in the medium- to long term, we can innovate better. Traditional brands can grow faster and provide value. Dettol in India is into bathing, handwashing, shaving, plasters. Entering new categories can be done through existing brands, through power brands.